1981 Houston Oilers season

1981 Houston Oilers season
1981 Houston Oilers season
Owner	Bud Adams
General manager	Ladd Herzeg
Head coach	Ed Biles
Home field	Houston Astrodome
Results
Record	7–9
Division place	3rd AFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	T Leon Gray; RB Earl Campbell; LB Robert Brazile; KR Carl Roaches
AP All-Pros	LB Robert Brazile (2nd team)
	← 1980; Oilers seasons; 1982 →;

The 1981 Houston Oilers season was the franchise's 22nd overall and the 12th in the National Football League (NFL). Bum Phillips was fired as head coach during the offseason for failing to reach the Super Bowl, and replaced by Ed Biles. However, the Oilers defensive problems would catch up with them as they finished with a disappointing 7–9 record, as Earl Campbell fought through injuries to rush for 1,376 yards. After a fast 4–2 start, Houston would struggle in the second half, going 3–7 in their final 10 games, including a critical loss to the New Orleans Saints, who finished 4–12 in 1981.

Offseason

NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1981 Houston Oilers draft
3	79	Mike Holston	Wide receiver	Morgan State
4	106	Nick Eyre	Offensive tackle	BYU
5	133	Delbert Fowler	Linebacker	West Virginia
6	159	Bill Kay	Defensive back	Purdue
7	193	Don Washington	Defensive back	Texas A&M–Kingsville
8	217	Willie Tullis	Defensive back	Troy
9	243	Avon Riley	Linebacker	UCLA
10	270	Larry Jones	Running back	Colorado State
11	297	Claude Matthews	Guard	Auburn
12	324	Bill Capece	Placekicker	Florida State
Made roster

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Personnel

Staff

**1981 Houston Oilers staff**
	Front office Owner/Chairman of the Board/President – Bud Adams Executive Vice President/General Manager – Ladd Herzeg Head coaches Head Coach – Ed Biles Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Jim Shofner Offensive Backs – Elijah Pitts Receivers – Andy Bourgeois Offensive Line – Ray Callahan			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Dick Nolan Defensive Line – Joe Galat Linebackers – Dick Selcer Defensive Backs – Bob Gambold

Roster

**1981 Houston Oilers roster**

	Quarterbacks 14 Gifford Nielsen 8 John Reaves 12 Ken Stabler Running backs 39 Adger Armstrong 34 Earl Campbell 47 Ronnie Coleman 28 Rich Thomaselli 45 Tim Wilson FB Wide receivers 11 Harold Bailey 00 Ken Burrough 84 Mike Holston 82 Mike Renfro 85 Carl Roaches 83 Tim Smith Tight ends 86 Mike Barber 87 Dave Casper		Offensive linemen 58 David Carter C/G 66 Greg Davidson C 77 Angelo Fields T 60 Ed Fisher G 74 Leon Gray T 55 Carl Mauck C 62 John Schuhmacher G 76 Morris Towns T Defensive linemen 75 Jesse Baker DE 65 Elvin Bethea DE 69 Andy Dorris DE 71 Ken Kennard NT 90 Daryle Skaugstad DT 67 Mike Stensrud DE		Linebackers 54 Gregg Bingham ILB 52 Robert Brazile OLB 57 John Corker OLB 50 Daryl Hunt ILB 53 Avon Riley OLB 56 Art Stringer ILB 51 Ted Thompson ILB 59 Ted Washington OLB Defensive backs 36 Carter Hartwig CB/FS 22 Bill Kay 32 Vernon Perry SS 37 Mike Reinfeldt FS 27 Greg Stemrick CB 20 Willie Tullis CB 33 J. C. Wilson CB Special teams 16 Toni Fritsch K 18 Cliff Parsley P		Reserve lists 78 Nick Eyre T (IRTooltip Injured reserve) -- Delbert Fowler LB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) -- Larry Jones RB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) -- Claude Mathews G (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Practice squad Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

A ticket for an October 26, 1981 game between the Oilers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Game site	NFL.com recap
1	September 6	at Los Angeles Rams	W 27–20	1–0	Anaheim Stadium	Recap
2	September 13	at Cleveland Browns	W 9–3	2–0	Cleveland Stadium	Recap
3	September 20	Miami Dolphins	L 10–16	2–1	Astrodome	Recap
4	September 27	at New York Jets	L 17–33	2–2	Shea Stadium	Recap
5	October 4	Cincinnati Bengals	W 17–10	3–2	Astrodome	Recap
6	October 11	Seattle Seahawks	W 35–17	4–2	Astrodome	Recap
7	October 18	at New England Patriots	L 10–38	4–3	Schaefer Stadium	Recap
8	October 26	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 13–26	4–4	Three Rivers Stadium	Recap
9	November 1	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 21–34	4–5	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
10	November 8	Oakland Raiders	W 17–16	5–5	Astrodome	Recap
11	November 15	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 10–23	5–6	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
12	November 22	New Orleans Saints	L 24–27	5–7	Astrodome	Recap
13	November 29	Atlanta Falcons	L 27–31	5–8	Astrodome	Recap
14	December 3	Cleveland Browns	W 17–13	6–8	Astrodome	Recap
15	December 13	at San Francisco 49ers	L 6–28	6–9	Candlestick Park	Recap
16	December 20	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 21–20	7–9	Astrodome	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC Central
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Cincinnati Bengals⁽¹⁾	12	4	0	.750	4–2	10–2	421	304	W2
Pittsburgh Steelers	8	8	0	.500	3–3	5–7	356	297	L3
Houston Oilers	7	9	0	.438	4–2	6–6	281	355	W1
Cleveland Browns	5	11	0	.313	1–5	2–10	276	375	L5

References

External links

1981 Houston Oilers at Pro-Football-Reference.com

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